Porsche in Gran Turismo?

Depending upon who you ask, every racing game featuring sports cars should feature Ferrari, Porsche, and Lamborghini. No exceptions. At least, in the minds of most fans. Many have criticized how Polyphony Digital couldn't secure world-class manufacturers into their franchise. People tend to think that Polyphony Digital cares more about kei cars, Nissan Skyline GT-Rs, and Mitsubishi Lancers than real cars most discriminating racing game fans care about. With a little more personality in Gran Turismo 5's car list, such as the likes of Bugatti, speculation opens as to whether or not Porsche will find its way into a future Gran Turismo Many feel the inclusion of Porsche would complete the cycle along with Ferrari and Lamborghini for all marques represented in Gran Turismo games. I'm here to ask the question and try to answer it in my own way.

And in case you're wondering, I am talking about Porsche and not Ruf. I will explain later about the Porsche/Ruf deal later in this blog post.

NOTE: This blog post was taken from John's Blog Space and modified extensively to be recent for "John's Gran Turismo Space." The blog post was originally posted on November 23, 2009; and edited and re-posted May 9, 2011.

--- Porsche in Gran Turismo: Why Should You Care? ---

^ from: www.orbitcast.com - Can future Gran Turismo titles feature Porsche (not Ruf or not just Ruf)?

Why be concerned (or at least optimistic) about Porsche being in a future Gran Turismo? Simple. The inclusion of Ferrari starting in Gran Turismo HD was a surprising announcement and a surprising change in overall philosophy in Polyphony Digital including certain cars. The inclusion of Lamborghini in Gran Turismo PSP, followed by subsequent appearances at video game shows featuring Gran Turismo 5 means that Lamborghini will more than likely enter the realm of all manufacturers and race constructors for Gran Turismo 5 along with Ferrari. Now with Gran Turismo 5 already been released since November 2010, now the question becomes: will Porsche complete the cycle by joining the lineup of cars and racing teams in a future Gran Turismo?

Many people like to assume that Porsche IS in the Gran Turismo series and has been since Gran Turismo 2. Well, you're wrong. Ruf (contrary to what most people like to believe) is not a tuner. Their cars are modified and made in such a way that they are their own legit manufacturer. Take this from Gran Turismo 2:

"Although some may argue that RUF simply modify the products of a famous German sports car maker, the transformation of its road cars is so complete that the company is an official car maker in its own right."

-RUF screen in Gran Turismo 2's Simulation Mode

Or take this from Ruf's official page:

"RUF Automobile GmbH is a producer of high-performance vehicles, specializing in manufacturing new RUF automobiles from the bare chassis, conversions to RUF specification and the performance enhancement / refinement of Porsche cars."

-RUF Automobile GmbH's official website (English)

So Ruf automobiles are built on the chassis of Porsches. They are recognized as a manufacturer by the German government. So Ruf and Porsche are not exactly one in the same. Having said this (and you must admit), it would be cool to see the RUF CTR3 or the new RUF Rt 12 in a future GT. ;)

--- Porsche Insight from Other Games ---

Now it's time to look at a few past games that have included Porsche. For this segment, I'll be talking about the Forza Motorsport series and "Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed."

Forza Motorsport Series.

One of the reasons why more people preferred playing Forza Motorsport 1 than Gran Turismo 4 was because of manufacturers like Porsche being included. Every Forza has featured Porsche. The very first Forza featured a great variety of classic and modern Porsches. Along with a healthy array of 911 models (including the 1998 24 Hours Le Mans outright-winning Porsche 911 GT1), there are also Porsches like the beautiful 550 A Spyder, the 959. Boster, Carerra GT, and an awesome Porsche 962C. It even included both the 911 GT3 Cup driven by Mike Fitzgerald in Speed World Challenge and the Alex Job Racing 911 GT3-RS.

Forza 2 added many more new and old Porsches, including various Porsche 911 GT3-RSRs, GT3 Cup cars, and more. This was also the debut for Porsche cars like the Cayman S and the 914/6.

Forza 3 debuted the Porsche RS Spyder LMP race car and included many more Porsches, even including the Porsche Cayenne.

Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed.

Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed basically took you on a well-executed tour of Porsche history. You started out with the very first Porsche model- the 356 series, and then worked your way up through three different eras of Porsches- classic, golden, and modern. Cars range from the 356 models and up the order to the 550 A Spyder, the 959, the Porsche 935/70 Moby Dick Porsche, various variations of the 911, and even the outstanding 911 GT1. It was maybe one of the best titles focused solely on a certain manufacturer.

--- What Porsches to Include? ---

What Porsche models should be included? I've only named specific cars and not specific race cars. You can read the blog entry I set up for this topic by clicking on the link in the sidebar. But for this part, I will name as many Porsches as possible that may be considered or likely should Porsche be featured in a future Gran Turismo. They encompass classic and modern cars I've seen in magazines and on the Internet. The following are a list of Porsches that I think would be likely or considerable for a future Gran Turismo...

Porsche models of consideration include, but are not limited to the:
* 356/1 Roadster
* 550 A Spyder
* 904
* 911 lineup
* 911 GT3
* 911 GT3-RSR
* 917 (1969-1970; 1970-1971 917 LH; 1973 917/30;
* 962C
* 1975 911 Carrera 3.0 RS
* 1979-1981 Porsche 935 K3
* 924
* 956
* 1985-1986 Porsche 959 Dakar
* 1986 Porsche 961
* 1996 Porsche 993 GT1
* 1998 Porsche 996 GT1 Evo
* 2001-2003 Porsche 996 GT3 RS
* Cayenne series
* Carerra GT
* GT3-RS models
* Boxster series
* Cayman series
* 2004 Porsche 996 Turbo GT1
* 2005-2006 Porsche RS Spyder
* GT3-Cup series?
* Panamera?

There would be many more Porsches to include. If PD REALLY want to test the waters, they can try to fish out some rare Porsches to include into a future GT. Wonder what rare Porsche PD would find.

--- Porsche AND Ruf? ---

Some people thought that the only reason Ruf is in Gran Turismo besides Porsche is because GT wanted the next best thing to Porsche. Those who overly complain about having Ruf and not having Porsche think that since PD couldn't acquire Porsche, that PD were "relegated" to Ruf. And in case you think Porsche has been around since GT2 and called Ruf, you'd be absolutely wrong. Or to quote Gran Turismo 2's Ruf showroom:

"Although some may argue that RUF simply modify the products of a famous German sports car maker, the transformation of its road cars is so complete that the company is an official car maker in its own right."

So in other words, it's kind of like Pescarolo Sport in Gran Turismo 4, with modified Courage chassis for their LMP cars. So if Porsche is included would Ruf be singled out? One of two possibilities could happen if Porsche AND Ruf are offered:

* include Porsche and eliminate Ruf
* include Porsche and Ruf in the same game

Which do you think is most likely?





No matter what your dream list of Porsche cars is, the fact is... you love Gran Turismo, and you love Porsche. No matter if you're into Porsche street cars, Porsche race cars, or both... the fact of the matter is that you're talking about one of the most legendary marques in automobile history. You're talking about wonderful cars from a company based in Stuttgart, Germany. And Porsches, ranging from the most classic models to modern classics, they all have their own unique character and charm, which cannot be matched with any other car company. With this kind of dedication and devotion, you'd be wanting to have these featured in any Gran Turismo as much as anybody else. With the inclusion of makes like Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bugatti, and possibly more big name makers in the works, Porsche would provide plenty of spice to a future GT's car list. Finally, some of the most critical fans can finally stop complaining about PD not including major car companies. Thing is, they've been doing it all their life. Just that more people care about Ferrari and Lamborghini and such. For example, They got Bentley for GT4, granted it was the 2003 Le Mans-winning Bentley EXP GT. They got Aprilia and Ducati in Tourist Trophy. And they got Lamborghini and Bugatti in Gran Turismo PSP. If this keeps up, the sky could be the limit in including big-name car companies and even more exclusive automobiles. Time will tell, but the future looks bright on the car front for a future Gran Turismo to include Porsche. In any event, be as hopeful and positive as possible. And as their slogan goes- Porsche. There is no substitute.





What do you make of Porsche being featured in a future Gran Turismo? Will there ever be honest-to-goodness Porsches in Gran Turismo? Feel free to comment away on this. Thank you for reading!

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